This was my second month participating in Foodie Penpals and this time both the person I was sending to and receiving from were located in Texas.

My box contained:

• Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bite-lettes
• Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter (again…)
• 365 Freeze Dried Tropical Fruit Blend
• Yogi Peach Detox Tea
• Apple Pie & Chocolate Cherry Torte Larabars
• Justin’s Travel-size Almond and Hazelnut Butters

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture since I tore into the box. Things were a bit crazy around here since I was on vacation in NYC around the time of the delivery date. I went shopping for my FPP with my sister. I sent the duplicate Cookie Butter I received last month and received another one! Is this like the Christmas Fruitcake? ^_^

I have mixed feelings about Larabars. I like the fact that there are no unnecessary ingredients and I can count them on one hand. The apple pie one had: Dates, Almonds, Unsweetened Apples, Walnuts, Raisins, Cinnamon. Doesn’t get any simpler than that. They were a good snack without being too sweet or heavy. I don’t typically like chocolate with fruit (and I don’t like bing cherries), but the cherry torte bar was also decent. I ate them but I wouldn’t buy them again.

I was also confused about the “Wholesome Junk Food”. I liked eating them, but after seeing the nutrition facts, was wondering what was healthy about them? I make my own oatmeal cookies which contain only a few ingredients. These were very moist, almost like eating un-cooked dough and had a strong citrus taste. But, they still tasted good because I ate the whole container by myself.

I have yet to sample the butters and tea. The tea will most likely be drank by Dan since I don’t drink too many tea bags. The butters are great because I’ve been wanting to try them and with the hurricane coming soon, will be great shelf-stable snacks. The fruit blend I will have to approach carefully. I tried rehydrating some of them in cocktails but that didn’t seem to work well. I’ll try them in oatmeal for breakfast or baking them in oatmeal cookies with macadamia nuts. I can’t give them to my sister unfortunately since it contains strawberries.

Here is my sister’s Foodie Penpal:

This month I got my first foodie pen pal package! Thanks Jessica for sending me these treats. My mom and brother ate the chips and salsa up and the granola thins are a great pick me up for an afternoon snack! I appreciate that you made me granola too! I’m eating the oatmeal right now while braving out the storm. Thanks for the thoughtful note too. I hope everyone liked their packages too!

To see what my sister sent to her Penpal, head on over to Beyond Frosting and see what Julianne got!

For more information on Foodie Penpals, follow the link below.